Entomology

Zoology

Branches of Zoology

Acarology Arachnology Cetology Cryptozoology Entomology Ethology Herpetology Ichthyology Mammalogy Myrmecology Neuroethology Ornithology Paleozoology Anthrozoology

History

pre-Darwin post-Darwin

Not to be confused with Etymology, the study of the origin of words.

Entomology is the scientific study of insects. Insects have many kinds of interactions with humans and other forms of life on earth, so it is an important specialty within biology. Though technically incorrect, the definition is sometimes widened to include the study of terrestrial animals in other arthropod groups or other phyla, such as arachnids, myriapods, earthworms, and slugs.

History of entomology

Entomology is rooted in nearly all human cultures from prehistoric times, but scientific study began only as recently as the 16th century.

Applied entomology

Many entomologists are employed in the study of insects that are directly beneficial or harmful to humans. The study of beneficial insects is primarily focused on their ecology and life habits, the primary concern being the understanding of how to raise them and make them more productive (often as imported biological control agents), or protect them from human disturbance, if they are native species such as wild bees.

Conversely, much of the study of insects (and related arthropods) that directly harm human beings or their domestic animals (called medical entomology and veterinary entomology) is focused on their physiology, with the goal of developing insect controls that are effective while minimizing undesirable side effects. For instance, many types of insecticides have been developed that target unique aspects of insect physiology and are thus harmless to other kinds of animals. A risk to this approach is that insecticides can also kill beneficial insects. Considerable recent effort has gone into finding biological controls such as species-specific parasites and diseases, as well as genetic controls, such as the introduction of sterile insects into a population. The combination of taking into account all aspects of insect biology, available control measures, economics, and environmental considerations is known as integrated pest management.

A few insects, chiefly blood-sucking Diptera, are vectors for a wide range of deadly diseases. Mosquitoes are especially important disease vectors. A fuller discussion of applied entomology is given under the title Economic entomology.

Forensic entomology specializes in the study of insect ecology for use in the legal system, as knowledge of insect behavior can yield useful information about crimes. For example, the approximate time of death or whether or not a victim was alive during a fire may be determined by using facts such as what stage of life an insect found at the scene is in.

Identification of insects

Insects other than Lepidoptera are typically identifiable only through the use of Identification keys and Monographs. Because the class Insecta contains a very large number of species and the characters separating them are unfamiliar, and often subtle (or invisible without a microscope), this is often very difficult even for a specialist.

Insect identification is an increasingly common hobby, with butterflies and dragonflies being the most popular.

Taxonomic specialization

Part of a large beetle collection

Many entomologists specialize in a single order or even a family of insects, and a number of these subspecialties are given their own informal names, typically (but not always) derived from the scientific name of the group:

• Apiology (or melittology) - bees
• Coleopterology - beetles
• Dipterology - flies
• Heteropterology - true bugs
• Lepidopterology - moths and butterflies
• Myrmecology - ants
• Orthopterology - grasshoppers, crickets, etc.
• Trichopterology - caddis flies

Organizations

Like other scientific specialties, entomologists have a number of local, national, and international organizations. There are also many organizations specializing in specific subareas.

• Amateur Entomologists' Society
• Deutsches Entomologisches Institut
• Entomological Society of America
• Entomological Society of Canada
• Royal Belgian Entomological Society
• Royal Entomological Society of London
• Société Entomologique de France

Museums

Many museums contain very large and important insect collections. Here is a list of some of the most important.

Europe

• Natural History Museum, Vienna Naturhistorisches Museum.
• Natural History Museum, Paris Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
• Natural History Museum, Berlin Humboldt Museum
• Natural History Museum, London Natural History Museum
• Royal Museum for Central Africa, Brussels Royal Museum for Central Africa
• Natural History Museum, Leiden Natural History Museum, Leiden
• Natural History Museum, Sweden Swedish Museum of Natural History
• Natural History Museum, St. Petersburg Zoological Collection of the Russian Academy of Science
• Natural History Museum, Geneva [1]

United States

• National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC
• American Museum of Natural History, New York
• California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
• Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
• Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles
• Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
• University of Kansas Natural History Museum, Lawrence, KS
• University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE
• Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven

Canada

• Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
• Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa
• Montreal Insectarium, Montreal

See also

• List of entomologists
• List of entomological journals
• Insects on stamps

External links

• Professor Andrew Speilman. Malaria video. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
• Rob Hutchinson. Mosquitoes video. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
• University of Vermont. Entomology Laboratory. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
• Iowa State University. Annotated Entomology directory. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
• Meganeura, University of Barcelona. Fosil Insects. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
• Goliathus (Entomology hobbyist site). Retrieved 2006-12-09.
• Linda Treadwell. Coleoptera (Beetles). Retrieved 2006-12-09.
• Medical Entomology images. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
• University of Nebraska State Museum. Division of Entomology. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
• Graeme Cocks. Insects of Townsville, Australia. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
• Actronic. Compendium of References on Flies and Disease. Retrieved 2006-12-09.

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